Despite their own poverty, her family had an open-door policy for people seeking shelter and food. Decades on, Saleemah says strangers continue to come up to her to thank her for her family’s generosity in providing shelter when they couldn’t pay their electricity bills. Her unique circumstances, without a doubt, put her in a good position to understand the challenges faced by families with parents who are mired in crime and abuse, and also reach out to find ways to help them. This brings us to the pioneering work she is doing most recently for a group of uniquely-unthought of mothers and their children. Volunteers at New Life Stories, a non‐profit organisation that supports pre‐school education for the children of incarcerated mothers. Courtesy of Saleemah Ismail. After a tour of the Singapore prisons, Saleemah and a group of trusted friends who collaborate with her on ch...